What award-winning corporate communications have in common – insights from the IR Society Best Practice award winners 2025

Read time: 5-6 mins

A key question that comes up throughout the reporting year is what separates good corporate reporting from award-winning reporting? Attending the IR Society’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ breakfast last week provided answers to this. Insights from Norcros, Haleon and Zigup suggest the answer lies in clarity, digital thinking and a relentless focus on what matters most to stakeholders.

From digital-first reporting to the growing importance of continuous storytelling, this year’s winners demonstrated that while formats may evolve, the fundamentals of good communication remain unchanged; clear stories, meaningful content and strong structure are at the heart.

Here are eight key lessons from this year’s winners.

The best reports focus on narrative, not volume

A clear takeaway was that strong annual reports are becoming more focused and less cluttered. Instead of trying to include everything, the best reports prioritise:

• Clear strategic narratives
• Strong case studies showing strategy in action
• Human stories from across the business
• Consistent messaging throughout

The emphasis is shifting from technical explanation to clear storytelling. The key question communicators should be asking is:

What are we really trying to say – and can we say it simply?

The winner of Best Annual Report (small cap), Norcros highlighted that the goal is ensuring every reader, regardless of knowledge, can take something meaningful from the report.

Their approach focused on plain speaking, strong strategic positioning and consistently linking messaging back to their purpose.

Content is continuous throughout the year

Another major shift is that annual reports are no longer the starting point for corporate storytelling.

Instead, leading companies are:

• Collecting stories throughout the year
• Publishing them across digital channels
• Repurposing the strongest content into the annual report

Norcros explained how they gather stories for LinkedIn and their website first, before incorporating them into reporting. This reflects a shift towards continuous engagement rather than episodic communication as boards become more involved with stakeholders, helping ensure the annual report reflects real stories already being told instead of narratives being created once a year.

Investor relations is becoming a strategic storytelling tool

Storytelling was emphasised, especially by Haleon and Norcros, throughout the event. Data must relate to a narrative, instead of just being statistics without context.

Key traits of strong IR teams included:

• Deep knowledge of performance and financial data
• Intellectual curiosity – this was specifically emphasised by Haleon, who won Best IRO (large cap)
• Continuous stakeholder engagement
• Clear articulation of the equity story
• Acting on investor feedback

Zigup described IR as the guardian of the equity story, responsible for ensuring alignment between strategy, results and market understanding.

IR is increasingly evolving from a disclosure function into a strategic communications role focused on maintaining credibility and trust over time.

Corporate websites are now the primary stakeholder gateway into the company

Zigup, winner of Best Corporate Website for three consecutive years, emphasised that the corporate website is now the primary destination for stakeholder information, often shaping first impressions of the business.

Corporate websites are expected to answer key stakeholder questions and present material information in a clear and accessible way.

• Key characteristics of leading corporate websites included:
• Clear structure and intuitive navigation
• Strong FAQs to reduce repetitive enquiries
• AI-readable and well-structured content
• Accessibility tools such as translation functionality
• Clear articulation of the investment case
• A focus on material information

There was also discussion about how websites must now serve both human users and AI tools, making structure increasingly important.

While AI is creating new opportunities, there was recognition that technology cannot replace judgement. Experts noted how AI did not produce the narrative they created when it turned a Chair’s statement into a podcast for investors to listen to, rather than read. Determining what information is selected for the narrative remains a human responsibility.

Sustainability reporting is becoming more strategic

Sustainability reporting is evolving from broad disclosure toward clearer, more structured narratives that directly support the business strategy.

Norcros highlighted how organising sustainability around three key sections of people, product and planet helped create a consistent framework and allowed them to continually connect sustainability back to purpose and strategy.

They also explained how they introduced a separate sustainability report for the first time last year, having previously integrated sustainability content throughout the annual report. This was supported by a dedicated sustainability microsite, reflecting a broader shift towards using digital channels to provide deeper ESG content alongside core reporting.

As regulations, such as the UK SRS, continue to evolve, the focus for many organisations remains on building strong reporting foundations rather than reacting too quickly to change. Norcros noted they are closely monitoring how peers respond to new sustainability and governance requirements before making significant changes to their own approach.

Digital-first reporting is accelerating change

Whilst the traditional PDF is still the reigning champion of annual reporting, digital-first reporting continues to reshape how companies think about disclosure and engagement, with differing opinions throughout the IR world.

Areas of innovation discussed included:

• Interactive annual reports
• HTML reporting
• Video and multimedia integration
• AI search tools
• Digital sustainability platforms

However, there was also recognition that many companies are still operating hybrid models due to cost considerations.

There was also debate, between Zigup and Conran Design Group, around the value of digital enhancements such as QR codes and videos within annual reports. While the importance of innovation was emphasised, Zigup stressed that usability and structure should always take priority over design features and that QR codes were not as effective, particularly for AI.

Curiosity is a competitive advantage

One of the strongest recurring themes was the importance of curiosity.

This included:

• Looking at peers and award shortlists for inspiration
• Asking major investors directly for feedback
• Challenging suppliers to demonstrate value
• Exploring new tools while understanding their limits

Zigup highlighted the importance of regularly engaging with their largest investors to understand what information matters most, while Norcros stressed the importance of working closely with suppliers and being willing to change partners where necessary.

As Haleon noted, learning from others is essential, stating that imitation is a form of flattery. Borrowing strong ideas and adapting them effectively is often what drives improvement.

Fundamentals still matter over trends

Despite discussion around AI, digital reporting and new formats, the strongest message was that the fundamentals of best practice remain unchanged.

Award-winning reports consistently answer four key questions:

• Is the content material and meaningful?
• Is the communication clear and human?
• Is the structure intuitive and easy to navigate?
• Does the report clearly explain why the company will win?

The award winners summarised this through four core principles: content, communication, teamwork and structure, all supported by a strong narrative and authentic examples of strategy in action.

Ultimately, while formats will continue to evolve, the companies that stand out are still those that consistently communicate not just what they do, but why they will succeed in an understandable, accessible and compelling way.

If you would like to join our discussion on the future of corporate reporting and evolving digital formats at our online roundtable with Tangelo in May, please contact us.